Wanted: Mickey Mouse
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: Mickey Mouse, wanted for murder? Say it isn't so! Rated T, just to be on the safe side.
1. The Legend

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a little something out of the ordinary here. My first Disney/Mickey Mouse story. All the characters belong to Disney, except for Chernoberus, Robyn, and a few incidental characters. I also mix universes a bit. I use the "Ducktales" versions of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and the "Goofy Movie"/"House of Mouse" version of Max (mainly because I like Huey, Dewey, and Louie better on "Ducktales" and Max better in "A Goofy Movie")._

* * *

Scrooge McDuck was returning from his latest expedition. He had a delivery for the Duckburg Museum. He had gone to Greeziturki, which was a small island located somewhere in the Black Sea. There, in a cavern, he found several artifacts from ancient Greeziturkian times, including armor worn by warriors, weapons, and several pieces of jewlery. One item he found was said to have been the legendary Emerald of Chernoberus, from a land known as Dragonwilde.

"You know something, Mr. McDee?" Scrooge's pilot, Launchpad McQuack, asked. "I'm a little nervous carrying that emerald you found."

"Why is that, Launchpad?" Scrooge asked.

"Well . . . . ." Launchpad said. "That the guy who owned it, Cherno-something-or-another, or whatever his name is . . . . he was an evil sorcerer, right?"

"So the legend goes."

"I was just thinking . . . . remember the part the Greeziturkians told us about his spirit inside that thing being able to give anyone who holds it magical powers . . . ."

"Launchpad, you don't actually be_lieve_ that story, do you? It's nothing more than an old legend!"

Launchpad didn't have a response to that. He was still apprehensive about carrying that emerald. But by the time he got to the airport, he had forgotten all about it.

"Okay, Mr. McDee," he said. "Time for one of Launchpad McQuack's world famous landings!"

"Oh no . . . . ." Scrooge groaned, and he reinforced his seatbelt.

As Launchpad was coming in for a landing, Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Daisy Duck, Scrooge's housekeeper, Mrs. Beakly, and her granddaughter, Webby, were waiting for Scrooge. They immediately saw the plane.

"There's Launchpad and Unca Scrooge now!" Dewey called out.

"And it looks like Launchpad's about ready to make one of his 'famous' landings," Louie said.

"Oh dear . . . ." Mrs. Beakly said.

"Oh no!" Donald groaned, holding his hand over his eyes.

"I don't think I can look!" Daisy shouted, doing the same thing.

Launchpad lowered the landing gear, and landed, only he wound up skidding right off the runway, and he crashed the plane directly into an idle plane, which crashed into another, and then another, causing a chain reaction.

"Is it over?" Daisy asked.

"Yup," Huey said, cringing a little. "It's over."

"Looks like a pile up on the freeway out there," Dewey said.

"Yeah," Louie commented. "One of Launchpad's best landings ever!"

Donald gave his nephew a strange look, and then he and the others ran out to the airfield. By the time they got there, Scrooge and Launchpad were crawling out of the debris.

"Don't worry," Launchpad said. "I'm okay!"

"That's strictly a matter of opinion," Scrooge said, glaring at his pilot.

"Are you okay, Unca Scrooge?" Webby asked.

"Yes, lassie, I'm all right," Scrooge replied, patting Webby on the head. "If I can survive Launchpad's landings, I can survive anything. Donald, give Launchpad a hand with the cargo. The Duckburg Museum has been waiting for these artifacts from Greeziturki."

"You got it, Uncle Scrooge!" Donald shouted, saluting. Then he and Launchpad went to the plane's cargo hold, and began lugging crates to the Duckburg Museum.

Later that day, Minnie was walking in downtown Toontown. She had a bow appointment and didn't want to be late for it. As luck would have it, Mickey's rival, Mortimer Mouse, was walking down the street himself.

"Well, ha-cha-cha!" he shouted. "Fancy running into you downtown, Minnie."

"Small world," Minnie said, rolling her eyes.

"Whattaya say you and me go paint the town red? A little dinner, a little dancing, and then later . . . . ."

"No thank you, Mortimer. I have a bow appointment that I don't want to be late for."

"How about a date for tonight then? Dinner and a movie!"

"I can't. I have a date with Mickey tonight."

"A date with Mickey. Hmph! What does that little runt got that I ain't got?"

"I'd love to tell you, Mortimer, but if I do, I'll be standing here all day."

With that, Minnie walked off. Mortimer glared and kicked a can.

"What does she see in that shrimp?" he asked. "Why, I'm _twice_ the mouse Mickey is! I'm better looking, I've got more personality, I'm smarter, taller, and richer than he is! I just don't get it!"

Mortimer jammed his hands inside his pockets and walked off.

About a week later, the Duckburg Museum officially opened their Greeziturkian exhibit. Practically all of Toontown was there, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and Goofy and his son, Max.

"Hiya, Donald!" Mickey shouted, smiling at his best friend. "Boy, Scrooge really brought back some great stuff this time!"

"I know," Donald said. "See that over there? That's the armor of a fearless Greeziturkian warrior!"

"Oh, Mickey!" Minnie gasped. "Look over there! That's the biggest emerald I've ever seen!"

"Gawrsh!" Goofy shouted. "Imagine the size of the necklace you could make with that! Hyuck!"

"I'm surprised Scrooge didn't keep it for himself," Mickey commented.

"He said donating the thing would result in a heavy tax break or something," Donald said, shrugging. "You know Uncle Scrooge."

"It says here that it's the Emerald of Chernoberus," Minnie said, reading the plaque. "According to the legend, Chernoberus was an evil sorcerer from a place called Dragonwilde."

"That sounds more like the name of a medieval English town," Max commented.

"Long ago," Minnie said, continuing to read the plaque, "Chernoberus tried to use the evil magic in his emerald to take over the world, but a good sorcerer cast a magic spell that trapped Chernoberus inside his own emerald, and locked it inside a chest. A great cataclysm then struck Dragonwilde, and earthquakes, fires, and floods destroyed the entire country."

"That makes sense," Max said, shrugging. "The flood waters probably swept the emerald to the Greeziturkian shore at one point in time."

"Yeah, Uncle Scrooge said he found a lot of treasure that didn't look Greeziturkian," Donald said.

"It's said that someone can unleash Chernoberus's power by holding the emerald on the night of a full moon," Minnie went on.

"Maybe that's why Scrooge donated it to the museum," Mickey said. "Maybe he was afraid of unleashing that power."

"No way, Mickey!" Donald shouted, somewhat indignantly. "Uncle Scrooge isn't afraid of _any_thing! Besides, he doesn't believe in silly legends like this!"

"Well, I don't think Uncle Scrooge would be able to unleash it, anyway," Daisy said. "According to the legend, whoever holds the emerald to unleash it's power has to be a complete jerk. And Uncle Scrooge may be a skinflint, a cheapskate, and a tightwad, but he's not a com_plete_ jerk!"

"Well, ha-cha-cha!" an annoying voice called out. "If it isn't Mickey Mouse and his Mouseketeers!"

"Speaking of complete jerks . . . ." Mickey said, under his breath.

"Hiya, Mickey," Mortimer said, giving Mickey a thump on the back, causing him to fall on his face. "Have a nice trip? Ha, ha, ha!"

"Hello, Mortimer," Mickey replied, glaring at his rival.

"What are you doing here, Mortimer?" Minnie asked.

"Just came by to see all the old junk the ol' skinflint brought back," Mortimer said. He grabbed a helmet and chest plate from the exhibit and put them on. Then he took the sword and the shield, and struck a heroic pose.

"Look at me, I'm a greasy turkey!" he shouted. "Gobble, gobble, gobble!"

"Mortimer, haven't you ever heard the expression look with your eyes, not with your hands?" Daisy asked, glaring at the tall mouse.

"Yeah," Goofy said. "You'd better put that stuff back!"

"Whattaya think, Minnie?" Mortimer asked. "Don't I look heroic? I'm a regular Hercules! Wanna go the distance with me?"

"Hmph!" Minnie shouted, turning away from Mortimer.

"Hey, now, here's something that's more my speed!" Mortimer shouted. He threw the armor to the floor, and ran to a display of jewels. Some were from Greeziturki, and others were from Dragonwilde. Mortimer grabbed a bejweled crown that Scrooge had found from the Dragonwilde set, and immediately put it on.

"Ha-cha-cha, this is definitely me!" Mortimer shouted. Then he grabbed a scepter. "King Mortimer!"

"Uhh, Mortimer . . . ." Mickey said. "I think maybe you should put those back. The sign on the wall says do not touch."

"Aww, shove off, ya little shrimp!" Mortimer shouted, bopping Mickey on the head with the scepter. "I was _born_ to be a king!"

"Well, if that's the case," a Scottish-accented voice said, "then let me crown you!"

The next thing Mortimer knew, he was clubbed on the head, and left seeing stars. Standing behind him was Scrooge, and he had hit Mortimer in the head with his cane.

"Ha-cha-chouch . . . . ." Mortimer groaned, dazedly, before falling face first on the floor.

"Now put these artifacts back where you found them!" Scrooge ordered. "And be minding the signs on the wall from now on! Or else!"

"Oh yeah?" Mortimer asked. "Or else what?"

"Or else I'm gonna have to fold you into an origami crane," a deep, intimidating voice said. Mortimer turned around, and saw a giant gorilla in a security guard's uniform standing behind him. Mortimer smiled sheepishly, and immediately put the crown, scepter, and armor back where they belonged.

"Well, so long, pal!" Mortimer shouted, and he took off running.

"Thank you, Bruno," Scrooge said, patting the gorilla on the back. "I can see the Dragonwilde jewelry collection is in good hands."

"Yes sir, Mr. McDuck, sir!" Bruno shouted, saluting.

And with that, the group left the museum, having a good laugh at the look on Mortimer's face when he saw Bruno.


	2. Chernoberus Awakens

The next day, Mickey and Minnie were walking Pluto, when they came across none other than Mortimer.

"Ha-cha-cha!" he shouted, as he walked over, and leaned on Mickey's head. "Hiya, Minnie!"

"Goodbye, Mortimer!" Mickey shouted, pushing his rival's arm off of him.

"Oh, sorry, Shorty," Mortimer said, with a laugh. "Didn't see ya there."

"Very funny," Mickey said. Pluto began growling.

"So, Minnie," Mortimer said, shoving Mickey out of his way, "how's about ditching this twerp for a _real_ man?"

"Twerp?!" Mickey shouted. Then he began raising his fists. "Why, I oughta . . . . ."

"No thank you, Mortimer," Minnie said. "I already have a date."

"Seriously, Minnie," Mortimer said. "What do you _see_ in this guy?! What's the matter with me?! Why won't you go out with _me_?!"

"Do you really want to know?" Minnie asked.

"Yes!" Mortimer shouted. "Tell me already!"

"Okay, but remember," Minnie said. "You asked for it."

Minnie cracked her knuckles, and took a deep breath.

"You're self-centered, sleazy, rude, obnoxious, insensitive, sexist, and annoying," she said.

"Yeah, but _aside_ from all that, why won't you go out with me?" Mortimer asked.

"_Ooohhhh_!" Minnie groaned frustratedly, while Mickey smacked his hand over his eyes, and shook his head.

"Geez, Minnie, come _on_!" Mortimer went on. "What do I have to do to get you to go out with me?"

"Have you tried a personality transplant?" Mickey suggested.

"Oh _very_ funny, Mick!" Mortimer shouted. "You're a million laughs!"

Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto began to walk off, laughing. Mortimer watched them go, seething.

"I've gotta find a way to turn Minnie's attention toward me instead of that little runt," he said. "But what's gonna do it?"

Mortimer began walking down the street in the opposite direction from Mickey and Minnie. As he was thinking of what to do to divert Minnie's affections from Mickey to himself, he remembered something.

"Ha-cha-cha!" he shouted. "That's it! Chicks love jewelry. I'll go get her that rock from the Duckburg Museum! What girl could resist _that_?"

And with that, Mortimer raced toward the museum. He walked in, and went directly to the Greeziturkian/Dragonwilde exhibit. He found the emerald, and began to inspect it. It was in a glass case on top of a podium, and roped off.

"Hmmm," Mortimer said, thoughtfully. "How am I gonna get that rock outta there without looking suspicious?"

Mortimer thought this over, until he saw the museum's janitor sweeping up the floor nearby. Then he snapped his fingers.

"Ah ha! That's it!" he shouted. He dashed to the closest broom closet, and ran inside. He came out a few minutes later wearing a janitor's uniform and fake mustache. Then he took a broom, and began to sweep it along the floor, whistling. Then, he swept over to the emerald, ducked under the ropes, and pulled a feather duster out of hammer space, and began dusting the glass case, while patrons walked by, all the while whistling. Then he pulled a book out of hammer space and opened it.

"Let me see here," he said. "According to the Official Bad Guy Handbook, in order to effectively swipe a jewel, one must replace it with a fake. Well, it's a good thing I've got this old green rock with me."

Mortimer looked to his left, then he looked to his right. When the coast was clear, he carefully lifted the glass case, and switched the emerald with a worthless rock in the blink of an eye. Then he stashed the emerald, and started to walk out of the museum, when he was suddenly grabbed by the back of the shirt collar.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going?!" a security guard asked.

"Who me?" Mortimer asked. "I, uhh, I was, umm, I . . . . ."

"You're shift's not over yet, bub! You know you're not outta here until midnight! Get back to work! And don't forget, I'll be watching you!"

"Oh. Oh yeah, yeah, sure. Sure."

Mortimer gulped, and started sweeping the floor. It was about all he could do, for right now. For one thing, he didn't want to get caught with the emerald! After what seemed like an eternity cleaning floors, Mortimer practically crawled out of the museum, exhausted, but once he realized he had gotten away with stealing the emerald, he perked up, and dashed into a dark alley so he could admire his prize without being noticed.

"Ha-cha-cha!" he shouted. "I got it! I got it! Nothing's gonna stop me from winning Minnie over now!"

Mortimer held the emerald up in his fist toward the full moon, and cackled. As he was cackling, a moonbeam came down from the moon, and hit the emerald, causing it to glow.

"Hey," Mortimer said. "What the heck . . . ."

Before Mortimer could finish his sentence, an electrical charge emitted from the emerald, and Mortimer was practically electrocuted. He was burned to a crisp once it subsided, and there was a small flame on the top of his head, as well.

"Ha-cha-charred," he said, dazedly, falling to the ground, face first, and dropping the emerald. The minute the stone hit the ground, a beam of light appeared out of it, and a wizard appeared from inside of it, like a holographic projection.

"It's about time," the wizard said. "I've been sitting idle in that thing for centuries! Now, let's see what we've got here . . . . ."

The wizard looked over at Mortimer, who was practically kissing the concrete, with a dopey expression on his face.

"Oh boy," the wizard sighed. "This one doesn't look very bright, does he? Hey, you there! Wake up!"

Mortimer leaned up, and shook his head to regain his composure. Then he saw the wizard, and nearly jumped a mile.

"YIPE!" he shouted. "Wh-wh-who are you?!"

"I'm known as Chernoberus," the wizard said. "I've been sitting in that emerald for centuries. Unfortunately, I'm unable to come out. But my magic has been transferred into you."

"Oh yeah?" Mortimer stood up, and picked up the emerald. "You expect me to believe that malarkey?"

"But it's true. Try it out if you don't believe me."

"Yeah, right. I don't believe in this whole magic thing. What do you want me to do? Point my finger, and suddenly a million bucks appears?"

The minute Mortimer said that, a pile of money suddenly appeared at his feet. When he saw that, he jumped back, surprised.

"Hey, what the . . . ." he started. "It worked! Well, ha-cha-cha! Whattaya know about that! Hey, wait a minute . . . . why am I wasting my time with a measly million bucks? I can have _anything_ I want! Even Minnie Mouse! Hey, Mr. Wizard, know any good love spells?"

"_Love_ spells?!" Chernoberus shouted, sounding disgusted. "How _dare_ you even sug_gest_ such a thought! _Bleeeccchhh_! I do not _do_ love spells. The very thought of it makes me sick to my stomach! Love. Dis_gust_ing!"

"Ah, come _on!_ This is the girl of my dreams we're talking about here! And I'm _ob_viously the guy of _her_ dreams, too, only she hasn't realized it yet. Why, if it weren't for that rotten little Mickey Mouse . . . ."

"You have competition for this girl's affections, then?"

"Yeah, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes himself."

Mortimer then began hopping from one leg to another, with a big, cheesy grin plastered on his face.

"Hi, everybody!" he shouted in a high falsetto, trying to imitate Mickey. "I'm Mickey Mouse! Oh boy! I'm such a goody-two-shoes and I _love_ everyone and everything! Gosh, aren't you swell! Put 'er there, pal! Ha, ha!"

"Eeesh," Chernoberus said, grimacing. "I think I see what you mean."

"That mouse makes me sick," Mortimer said. "If I could get him outta the picture, then . . . . ."

Mortimer stopped in mid sentence, and began smiling.

"Saaayyyyy . . . . ." he said. "That gives me an idea! What if we get that little goody-goody out of the way? Send him off to a salt mine in Siberia . . . . . or into outer space . . . . . or even . . . . . yeah, yeah! Ha-cha-cha!"

"I can see this will work out swimmingly," Chernoberus said, with an evil smirk.


	3. The Wabash-Your-Head-In River

The next morning, Mickey was in his front yard, packing some supplies into a backpack. He and Donald were going hiking. As he packed, Mortimer leaned against the fence.

"Well, ha-cha-cha," he said. "If it isn't good ol' Mickey Mouse."

"Huh?" Mickey asked, giving Mortimer a weird look.

"Yes sir, good ol' Mickey Mouse," Mortimer went on. "Everybody knows you, Mick, ol' buddy, ol' pal!"

"What are you talking about, Mortimer?" Mickey asked, eyeing his rival suspiciously.

"You know, Mickey!" Mortimer said, giving Mickey a smack on the back. "Mr. Nice Guy! The guy everybody knows and loves! The hero! Everybody's pal! Why, I bet you'd never hurt a fly! Yeah, you've got yourself quite a reputation, Mickey! Aren't you afraid of something . . . . _happening _to it?"

"Aw, what could happen, Mortimer? Why, everybody knows I wouldn't do anything rotten or cruel, or anything like that!"

"You never know, Mickster. You just never know."

And with that, Mortimer walked off, leaving Mickey looking confused. As he wondered what in the world Mortimer was up to, Donald came walking down the street, carrying his backpack.

"Hiya, Mickey!" he called out. "Are you ready?"

"Sure am, Donald!" Mickey shouted, swinging his backpack onto his shoulders. "Let's go!"

The two pals walked down the street, whistling, and headed for the park. Once they arrived, they headed along one of the hiking trails.

"Oooooohhhh . . . . ." Mickey sang. "A-hiking we will go . . . ."

"A-hiking we will go," Donald sang.

"Hi-ho the derry-oh, a hiking we will go!" they sang together. They continued singing this while they went down the trail.

"Great day for hiking, huh, pal?" Mickey asked.

"You said it, pal," Donald replied. "Next time, we oughta bring Goofy and the girls."

"Yeah, and we'll bring Goofy and the girls next time, too."

"That's what I said!"

"I know. I was only teasing you."

Donald began mumbling under his breath after that. He didn't like to be teased about the way he talked. He couldn't help it, after all.

"Aww, come on, Donald," Mickey said. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I didn't mean anything by it. Let's get on with the hike."

"Oh all right," Donald said. "I'll let bygones be bygones . . . . . big ears."

Mickey decided to let that one go, and he and Donald continued their hike. They went down a path that led to a giant gorge overlooking a swiftly moving river. Immediately, Mickey and Donald stopped.

"Uh oh," Donald said. "I think this is the Wabash-Your-Head-In River, Mickey."

"Gosh," Mickey said, looking at the swiftly moving river. "The one that leads to the Doomsday Falls? The waterfall nobody's ever gone down and lived to tell about it?"

"Yeah . . . . how'd we end up here?"

"We'd better turn back!"

Donald agreed, and the two friends immediately turned around. However, they found themselves walking on a trail neither of them knew.

"Well, this is a fine predicament," Donald grumbled. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Mickey said, pulling a map out of his backpack. He unfolded it, and began looking over it.

"Let's see here," he said. "We started here on Main Trail . . . . and here's the Wabash-Your-Head-In . . . . so we were somewhere around here . . . . . then we turned around . . . . . hmmm . . . . yep. I know exactly where we are now!"

"Where are we?" Donald asked.

"Lost."

"That's what I thought."

"I knew we should've taken that left turn at the Albuquerque Trail."

"Oh brother. Come on, let's go this way!"

Mickey followed Donald, even though he wasn't sure if it was such a good idea or not. He only did it because he didn't have any better ideas. They walked around for what seemed like hours, only to find themselves back at the gorge above the Wabash-Your-Head-In River.

"Aw, nuts!" Donald shouted.

"I don't know how we got turned around," Mickey said.

"Maybe the way back is on the other side of the gorge."

"But how are we gonna cross it, Donald?"

"Uuuummmm . . . . . ."

Donald looked around for a moment, and then saw a fallen tree nearby, that stretched from one edge of the gorge to the other.

"Over here, Mickey!" he called, and ran over toward the tree.

"I don't know, Donald," Mickey said, as Donald climbed onto the tree and began crossing. "That tree looks pretty old. We don't even know if it's safe or not!"

"Aw come on! It's perfectly safe!"

"Well . . . . all right."

Hesitantly, Mickey followed his pal onto the tree, and the two of them made their way across, as slowly as possible. Unfortunately, Mickey tripped over a knot in the tree, and fell directly into Donald.

"Wak!" Donald shouted, as he lost his balance, and fell off the tree. Thankfully, he managed to grab a branch of it.

"Donald!" Mickey shouted, nervously.

"Get me outta here!" Donald shouted.

"Hold on, Donald! I'll save you!"

Mickey took off his backpack, opened it, pulled some rope out of it, and lowered it down to Donald. Just as the duck grabbed it, a gust of wind blew. Mickey lost his grip on the rope, and Donald became airborne. Once the wind subsided, Donald plummeted right into the Wabash-Your-Head-In River, and was swept right into the rapids.

"Omigosh!" Mickey shouted. "Hang on, Donald!"

Without a second thought, Mickey dove off the tree, and right into the river. He began swimming after Donald, but it wasn't easy. Both he and Donald were being tossed about in the rapids, going under for a second or so, and surfacing again. Mickey managed to grab the end of the rope Donald was still holding and pulled the duck toward him.

"Don't worry, Donald!" the mouse shouted. "I've gotcha!"

"Just don't let go, Mickey!" Donald shouted, gripping the rope for dear life.

Mickey managed to find a nearby rock in the middle of the rapids, and swam over to them. Once he was on the rock, he pulled the rope toward him, while Donald, keeping his hands glued to the rope, kicked his legs in order to get to the rock. Once he was close enough, Mickey pulled him up.

"Thanks, Mickey," Donald said, breathlessly.

"Don't mention it, ol' pal," Mickey said, catching his breath as well. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to get out of here."

Before Mickey and Donald could do anything else, a gigantic splash of water knocked them both off the rock and back into the river, leading them closer to Doomsday Falls.

"Wak!" Donald shouted once he saw the falls in sight.

"Yow!" Mickey screamed, and both he and Donald began swimming in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the rapids were stronger than they were, and they both went over the falls. On the way down, something swooped into the waterfall, and caught both of them before they could hit the jagged rocks at the bottom.

It seemed Donald and Mickey had been caught by a large, black bird-like creature, being ridden by a stranger wearing a black robe and face mask. The bird flipped Donald into the air, and it's rider caught him.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Donald shouted. "What's going on here?! Who are you, you big palooka?! Wait'll I get my hands on . . . ."

Before Donald could go on, the strange man held Donald's bill closed with one hand, while trying to restrain the short-tempered duck with his other hand. Then the man flew his bird away from the falls, and signaled it to drop the unconscious Mickey. Once the bird did so, he and the stranger flew away with Donald.


	4. Searching

Mickey came to shortly after washing up on the bank at the bottom of Doomsday Falls. He was cold, wet, and his head was killing him.

"Oh boy, what a ride," he groaned. "You okay, Donald?"

Mickey waited for a response, but then realized Donald wasn't there.

"Donald?" he asked. "Donald! Hey, Donald, where are you?"

Mickey got up, and looked around. It was then he noticed he was at the bottom of Doomsday Falls.

"Omigosh!" he shouted. "We must've gone over the falls! But . . . . but how in the world could I have survived it?"

Mickey stood there, wondering about the whole thing, until another thought hit him. Usually, if someone went over Doomsday Falls, there would be some telltale sign (such as an impaled body on the rocks), and Mickey couldn't find any sign of Donald anywhere.

"Donald!" he called out. "Hey, Donald! Where are you?!"

Mickey walked downstream a little, and then stopped.

"Wait a minute!" he shouted. "Maybe Donald went to find help. After all, I was unconscious. Maybe I'd better stay here until he comes back."

So Mickey sat down on a nearby rock, and waited. And waited, and waited, and waited. He waited so long, the sun was starting to set. Mickey sighed, stood up, and began heading for home. He figured he'd call Minnie and at least let her know he got home okay. Then maybe he'd call the rest of the gang, and they could go look for Donald.

"Mickey Mouse, where have you been all day?!" Minnie shouted, once Mickey called her. "Do you even know what time it is?! That hike with Donald couldn't have lasted _this_ long!"

"Yeah, I know, Minnie," Mickey said. "It sort of . . . . didn't. I mean, I know I just got home and all, but . . . . . well . . . . ."

"Mickey, is something wrong?"

"Well . . . . yes. See, Donald and I got lost, and somehow, we wound up at Wabash-Your-Head-In River, and we fell in. Then we went over Doomsday Falls, and . . . ."

"You went over Doomsday Falls? And you're still alive to tell about it?!"

"Yeah, I know, it's crazy. But we did. Anyway, we went over the falls, but I couldn't find a trace of Donald. You know there's always some telltale sign that someone went over the falls. I figured he came to before I did and went to find help, but I waited for hours and he never showed up."

"I haven't seen him all day, Mickey."

"I was afraid of that. Listen, you call the rest of the gang, and we'll all go back to look for him, okay?"

"Okay, Mickey."

Within fifteen minutes, Mickey had returned to the bottom of Doomsday Falls, only this time accompanied by Minnie, Daisy, Scrooge, Goofy, Max, Pluto, Horace Horsecollar, and Clarabelle Cow. Launchpad was using his helicopter to search as well. Scrooge had also put his science advisor, Gyro Gearloose, on the job. He was using a small submarine to check under the falls.

"Doooonaaalllld!" Goofy called out.

"Donald, where are you?" Daisy asked.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Clarabelle sang.

"Olly, olly oxen free!" Horace called.

"Do you see anything, Launchpad?" Scrooge asked, via handheld transmitter.

"Negative, Mr. McDee," Launchpad said.

"How about you, Gyro?" Scrooge asked.

"There's no sign of Donald down here, Mr. McDuck," Gyro said.

"That might be a good thing, though, right?" Daisy asked, as she began to wring her hands, nervously. "It could mean he didn't drown, or hit the rocks, right?"

"Aye, lass, it could," Scrooge said, though he didn't sound so sure. He was thinking Donald could have also gotten swept into the river's current after landing from the falls, but he didn't say so. He didn't want to upset Daisy, as she was already nervous enough.

"Ach, this is all I need right now," Scrooge groaned. "First someone steals the Emerald of Chernoberus from the museum, and now this!"

"Don't worry, Scrooge, I'm sure Donald's okay," Minnie sad. "I hope."

"Having any luck, Pluto?" Mickey asked, as Pluto sniffed around. He looked up at Mickey, shook his head, and whimpered.

"Aw, that's okay, fella," Mickey said, patting his faithful friend. "I'm sure you'll pick up Donald's scent soon."

The group spent several hours searching the area, but came up with nothing. Everyone was starting to get tired.

"I say we call it a night," Scrooge said. "It's getting late."

"It can't be _that_ late, can it?" Daisy asked.

"Gawrsh, my watch must be wrong," Goofy said. "It says it's one in the morning!"

"It _is_ one in the morning, Dad," Max said, stifling a yawn. "We've been looking for Donald since nine thirty."

"Three and a half hours," Mickey said.

"I really don't think we're going to find Donald tonight," Minnie said.

"I agree," Scrooge said. "Let's all go home and get rested, and then we'll pick up the search tomorrow."

"I thought it already _was_ tomorrow," Goofy said.

"Never mind, Dad," Max sighed.

"Good idea," Mickey said. "That way, we can get the police involved."

The others agreed, and started heading for home.

"Hey, Mickey," Horace said. "Just out of curiosity's sake, how _did_ you manage to survive going down Doomsday Falls?"

"I really don't know, Horace," Mickey said, shrugging. "But if I survived, then maybe Donald did, too."

"I sure hope so, Mickey," Daisy said. "Where could he be?"

That was a simple question, but unfortunately, it didn't have a simple answer. Since Mickey had been unconscious, he didn't see the strange man on the strange bird fly off with Donald. It hadn't been an easy flight for the strange man. It had been a long flight, but Donald hadn't made it easy for him throughout the entire thing. He kept squirming and kicking, but the strange man had nerves of steel, it seemed, and a grip to match. After flying all night, the strange bird finally came in for a landing at a huge, creepy looking castle. Once the bird landed, the rider dismounted, and took the foul-tempered fowl inside, and down several staircases. Once he reached the very bottom, he threw Donald inside a cell. Donald smashed right into the wall, and slid to the floor slightly dazed. He got his wits back quickly, stood up, and raced for the cell door, only running into the bars as the strange man locked it.

"Hey, what's the big idea, you big palooka?!" Donald shouted. "Why I oughta . . . ."

Donald went into his famous "tantrum pose," and began squawking incoherently. Suddenly, Donald was flung against the wall, and the shackles that were hanging on it locked themselves around his wrists. He shook his wrists a little, and then tried pulling the chains out of the wall. He began squawking again, and jumping around, until a piece of rope appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, and tied itself tightly around Donald's bill. Then the strange man disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Watching this whole scene in the comfort of his own home was none other than Mortimer Mouse, via Chernoberus's sorcery on his television set.

"Excellent, everything is going according to plan," Chernoberus said.

"I don't follow, exactly," Mortimer said. "I mean, we had Mickey right where I wanted him, at Doomsday Falls. Why didn't we just impale him on the rocks? That way, I woulda had him out of my hair, and Minnie would be all mine by now!"

"I've told you before," Chernoberus said. "If we kill off Mickey Mouse, then Minnie would be in mourning, and she'd never give you a second thought. Besides, there are _worse_ things than death, my friend."

"Yeah, but I still don't get how this is gonna ruin Mick's reputation, either."

"That part comes next."

Mortimer just shrugged, and went along with this. After all, if it would get Minnie all to himself, it was worth it.

Mickey's alarm clock went off at seven thirty. He woke up, yawned, and stretched. Then he got out of bed, went into the kitchen, grabbed Pluto's leash, and opened the back door.

"Here, Pluto!" he called. "Here, boy!"

Pluto got up, barked, and walked over to his master. He gave Mickey a couple of good morning slurps, and Mickey pet him.

"Okay, Pluto, okay!" Mickey shouted. "Easy, boy, easy! Come on, let's head out. We've got to get the gang together to look for Donald. We'd better get the police involved, too!"

Pluto barked in agreement. Mickey was about to clip the leash to his dog's collar, when there was a knock on the door. Mickey went to answer it, and found a policeman standing in front of him.

"Boy, you guys are fast," he said.

"Mickey Mouse, you're under arrest!" the policeman shouted, locking a handcuff around Mickey's wrist.

"Huh?" Mickey asked, confused.

The next thing the mouse knew, he was in the back of a police car, being whisked away to police headquarters. From there, he was fingerprinted (and glove printed as well), had a mug shot taken, and then thrown into a holding cell.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" he shouted. "I'm innocent, I tell ya! I didn't do anything! Really, I didn't! I don't even know what I didn't do!"

"Yeah, yeah," one of the officers said, waving his hand. "That's what they all say!"

"Well . . . . well at least you can tell me what it is I didn't do!"

"As if you didn't know, Mouse. You're under arrest for murder!"

"_Murder_?!"

"Yeah. You killed Donald Duck!"

Mickey's jaw nearly made a dent in the floor, and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets when he heard the charge. He couldn't believe it. Of course, this was the biggest news to hit Toontown in ages, and by the next morning, it was in all the papers.

"Extra, extra! Read all about it!" a local newsboy on the street corner shouted. "Mickey Mouse charged with murder of Donald Duck!"

"I can't be_lieve_ it!" Clarabelle shouted.

"Neither can I," Minnie said. "It's just not true!"

"Minnie's right!" Daisy shouted. "This is Mickey _Mouse_ we're talking about here! He'd _never_ murder Donald!"

"He'd never murder _any_one!" Minnie shouted.

Everyone else in town agreed, and several of Mickey's friends were marching outside police headquarters with signs that read "Free Mickey." Unfortunately, police Chief O'Hara refused, claiming they had evidence that proved Mickey had done the deed.


	5. Disorder in the Court

A few days later, Mickey was put on trial. Minnie, Daisy, Goofy, Max, Horace, Clarabelle, Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie were all in attendance, as well as Launchpad, Gyro, Mrs. Beakly, and Webby, Donald's other uncle, Professor Ludwig von Drake, and Donald's two friends, Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles. They had heard about Mickey being accused of murder, and refused to believe it.

"Mickey Mouse!" the judge shouted. "You have been charged with the murder of Donald Duck! How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, your honor, sir!" Mickey shouted. "I mean, Donald's my pal. I'd never murder him!"

"So he says, your honor," the prosecutor said. "I am here to prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Mickey Mouse is indeed guilty! I have here video-graphic evidence that proves it!"

The prosecutor took a tape, and put it into the player. Immediately, the image of Mickey and Donald crossing the fallen tree appeared on it. The prosecutor pushed the pause button on the remote control.

"Mickey Mouse, do you deny that you were in this location?" he asked.

"No, I don't deny it," Mickey said. "What happened was I tripped, and . . . ."

"You tripped, eh? Your honor, let's go to the video tape."

The prosecutor pushed the play button, and the video went on. Mickey had somewhat of a sinister smile on his face, looked around, and then pushed Donald as hard as he could, off the tree.

"Whoopsie!" he shouted, sarcastically, and then laughed. Then, he opened his backpack, took a piece of rope out, and tied it into a lasso.

"Oh my gosh," he said, in mock horror. "Hang on, Donald! I'll save ya, ol' pal! Heh, heh, heh . . . ."

Mickey swung his lasso, and managed to throw it, right around Donald's neck. With a great jerk, he pulled Donald off the branch.

"Wak!" Donald shouted, sounding choked. Mickey began to laugh maniacally. Daisy gasped, and held her hands to her bill. Minnie's eyes grew wide with shock. Nobody could believe what they were seeing. Not even Mickey!

"That's not me, your honor!" Mickey shouted. "This isn't what happened! I tripped, and bumped into Donald! That's how he fell off that log. I _did_ throw him a rope, but I didn't tie it into a lasso first! I just threw it down, and then a gust of wind knocked me off and we fell into the river."

"The Wabash-Your-Head-In River, to be precise," the prosecutor said. "Isn't that correct, Mr. Mouse?"

"Yeah, that's right," Mickey said. "We went down the Wabash-Your-Head-In River, and then over Doomsday Falls!"

"So you're saying, Mr. Mouse, that you and Donald Duck went over Doomsday Falls. Then how did you happen to survive? As you undoubtedly know, Mr. Mouse, _nobody_ has ever survived Doomsday Falls, so how did you?"

"I . . . . . I don't know."

"Mmm hmm."

"But it's the truth! I swear! Why won't you believe me?!"

"Shall we continue the video tape?"

The prosecutor continued the video tape. It showed Mickey pulling Donald up from the bridge, and then dragging him (by the rope around his neck) across the bridge, and down the path to the river bank. Then Mickey ripped off Donald's shirt, took a large butcher knife out of his backpack, held it up, laughed maniacally, and brought it down.

"Gawrsh!" Goofy shouted, covering his eyes. "I can't look!"

"This is the way we carve the duck, carve the duck, carve the duck!" Mickey on the video tape sang, to the tune of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush." A large gasp rippled through everyone in the room.

"Unca Donald?" Huey asked. Immediately, Scrooge covered his nephew's eyes, while Professor von Drake covered Dewey's, Daisy covered Louie's, and Mrs. Beakly covered Webby's.

"Don't look, kids," Scrooge said, grimacing. "It isn't a pretty sight."

"I'll say it isn't!" Launchpad shouted, cringing. "Eeeeuuuwww!"

"Oh the hu_man_ity!" Clarabelle shouted.

"I can't believe I'm seeing this," Minnie said, as Mickey threw the butcher knife away. Then with a mad cackle, he began plucking out Donald's feathers by the handful.

"Mr. Donald, I will pluck your feathers, I will pluck them one handful by one!" he sang to the tune of "Allouette."

Once Mickey was done plucking, he took out a hatchet. Minnie covered her eyes, just as she heard five sickening chopping sounds. When she uncovered them again, she let out a loud gasp.

"Oh _Mick_ey!" she cried.

"I didn't do it, Minnie!" Mickey shouted. "I swear, I didn't do it!"

"What's going on, Grammy?" Webby asked, since Mrs. Beakly was still covering her eyes.

"Believe me, dear," Mrs. Beakly said. "It's far too gruesome for you to see."

"Quackarooney!" Louie shouted, managing to peak through Daisy's fingers.

"Unca Donald!" Dewey shouted, pulling himself away from his great-Uncle Ludwig so he could see what was going on.

"Your uncle Scrooge _told_ you not to look!" Professor von Drake said. "And I wish _I_ hadn't looked. Hooo boy . . . ."

On the video, Mickey then laughed maniacally, stuffed Donald into his backpack, and walked off, scatting his little tune, "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo." Nobody could believe what they were seeing. The video scene shifted to Mickey's house, in the kitchen. On the counter there was a roasting pan with what looked like a duck inside of it. Mickey was chopping up onions, and mixing them with breadcrumbs, celery, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, and then stuffing it into the bird.

"Mmm-_mmmm_!" Mickey shouted, hungrily. "This'll be the best dinner I've ever had! Nothing like a good roast duck!"

Another loud gasp rippled through the room. On the video, Mickey then popped the bird into the oven. Moments later, the timer went off, and revealed the duck, roasted to perfection. Mickey then transferred the duck from the pan to a plate, and began devouring it like a neanderthal.

"Oh my goodness . . . . ." Gyro said, looking a little green.

"Curse me kilts!" Scrooge gasped. Daisy let out a shriek loud enough to shatter glass.

"The horror!" Horace shouted. "The _horror_!"

"I _can't_ believe it!" Clarabelle shouted. "I just can't be_lieve_ it!"

"Oooohhh!" Minnie moaned.

"Come on, you guys!" Mickey shouted. "I didn't do it! I'd _never_ do a thing like that! You _know_ I wouldn't!"

The final scene in the video showed Mickey biting into a drumstick, then pulling it out of his mouth, and throwing it over his shoulder. Then he picked up the wishbone, and held it up with two hands.

"Make a wish! Nyah-ha-ha-haaaa!" he shouted, maniacally. Then he yanked it in two pieces, and tossed them over his shoulder. Then he leaned back in his chair, and wiped his mouth with what looked like Donald's sailor hat.

"Aaahhh, that was a good meal," he sighed. Then he turned to address the bones. "You may have been a foul fowl, Donald, but you sure were delicious!"

Another loud gasp filled the courtroom, and once again, people began talking among themselves, mostly in shock. The prosecutor stopped the video.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he went on, "I would like to offer some more evidence that Mickey Mouse committed this evil deed."

"I hate to see what's next," Mickey moaned.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the prosecutor said. "Upon searching the area, the police have found these in the woods."

The prosecutor then pulled out the noose, the butcher knife, and the hatchet, all of which were contained in plastic bags.

"You can't prove anything!" Mickey shouted. "I bet you can't find any of my fingerprints on them!"

"True, there wasn't a print found on them," the prosecutor said. "However, my good mouse, there is the fact that you wear gloves, which, as you knew when you used these items, wouldn't leave fingerprints on them to identify you."

"But . . . . but most of us here in Toontown wear gloves!" Mickey shouted.

"I now would like to call police chief O'Hara to the stand," the prosecutor said. Chief O'Hara took the stand and was sworn in.

"Chief O'Hara," the prosecutor said, "did you obtain a search warrant to inspect the home of Mickey Mouse?"

"Yes sir," Chief O'Hara said.

"And did you find anything of interest while searching?"

"I sure did. Mickey Mouse was keeping a skeleton in his closet."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Exhibit A!"

The prosecutor pulled a cardboard box out of hammerspace, and dumped the contents of it onto a table. Exhibit A was just a pile of bones. The prosecutor quickly began putting the bones together, to reveal a duck skeleton. He held up two pieces of broken bone.

"These two pieces of bone are, in fact, Donald Duck's wishbone," the prosecutor said. "Did your forensics team examine these, Chief O'Hara?"

"That they did," Chief O'Hara said, nodding. "They made a positive identification after examining those bones. They did, indeed, belong to Donald Duck."

Yet another loud gasp filled the courtroom. Everyone looked at Mickey, shocked, angry, and disappointed all at once.

"But . . . . but I . . . . but . . . . but . . . ." Mickey stammered, but it was no use. He couldn't think of anything to say.

"No further questions, your honor," the prosecutor said.

"Jury, have you reached a verdict?" the judge asked.

"Guilty!" every last member of the jury shouted in unison. Mickey cringed. He felt about three inches tall at this point.

"Mickey Mouse, I hereby sentence you to life in prison," the judge said. "Without the possibility of parole. Case dismissed!"

The judge banged his gavel against his desk, and stepped down.

"Wait! I'm innocent I tell ya!" Mickey shouted, as a couple of officers started to lead him out of the courtroom.

"I didn't think anyone could stoop so low!" Horace shouted.

"Honestly, Mickey!" Clarabelle shouted. "I mean, _really_! You should be ashamed!"

"You . . . . you . . . . you _rat_, you!" Daisy shouted. She slapped Mickey in the face as hard as she possibly could (leaving a hand-shaped mark on Mickey's face), and then burst into hysterical tears.

"But, Daisy, I . . . ." Mickey started, but he was interrupted when Huey, Dewey, and Louie approached him, and all three of them were in tears.

"Aw, how couldja _do_ it, Mickey?" Huey asked.

"Now we'll never see Unca Donald again," Dewey sniffled.

"We'll never forgive you!" Louie wailed.

"Oh gosh, boys . . . ." Mickey said.

"Don't you speak to them, you . . . . you _fiend_!" Scrooge shouted, stepping between his nephews and Mickey. "I want nothing more to do with you, Mouse! I don't take kindly to _any_one who'll murder me kin!"

"But Scrooge, really, I didn't . . . ." Mickey began, but he was cut off by the sound of very loud bawling. Goofy was standing there, wringing his hat in his hands, and sobbing.

"And to think you were one of my best friends," he said, and let out a loud wail.

"Take it easy, Dad," Max said, patting his father's shoulder comfortingly. Then he turned to Mickey, and glared at him.

"Well, Mickey," he said. "I hope you're proud of yourself."

"But Max, Goofy, wait a minute!" Mickey shouted.

"You know what I'm gonna do now, Mouse?" Professor von Drake asked. "I'm gonna build me a better mouse trap, and then I might test it on you!"

"Professor, really, I didn't murder Donald!" Mickey protested. "I'm telling ya, I'm innocent!"

"In Mexico, we got words for people like you," Panchito said. Then he began shouting right in Mickey's face. "Usted es un perro, un vago, una serpiente en la hierba, y un gran cerdo gordo, y espero que te pudras en la cárcel por el resto de tu vida miserable, y ahogarse con una enchilada! Usted me enferma, y me escupen en los pies, vosotros dos caras hijo de un chacal! _Ptooey_!"

Mickey jumped back a little as Panchito spit at his feet. Then he looked at the Mexican rooster, a little confused.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"You don't want to know!" Panchito shouted, and then he spat at Mickey's feet again. "_Ptooey_!"

Panchito stomped off. Once again, Mickey felt three inches tall. In fact, he was starting to feel two inches tall. He saw Jose giving him one of those looks that could kill.

"Jose, please, you know me!" Mickey shouted. "You know I wouldn't do it!"

All Jose did was give Mickey a sharp glare, and shake his head disapprovingly. Then he walked away, behind his fellow Caballero. Mickey had one last hope.

"Minnie!" he shouted. "Minnie, you've gotta believe me! I'm innocent!"

"Hmph!" Minnie shouted, turning her nose up at Mickey. "Don't even speak to me, Mickey Mouse! I never want to see you again as long as I live!"

"Aw, Minnie . . . . ."

"I _trusted_ you! And now . . . . ."

Minnie burst into tears before she could finish her sentence. She and Daisy hugged each other, and the two of them started crying harder.

"Well . . . ." Mickey said. "Well, at least take care of Pluto for me."

Minnie didn't answer. Mickey sighed, and the officers led him outside. There were several reporters outside, all of them asking Mickey questions at once. Mickey ignored all of them. As if things couldn't get any worse, Pete and Mortimer were hanging out at the courthouse as well.

"Hey Mouse!" Pete shouted, giving Mickey a hard slap in the back. "Didn't know ya had it in ya, pal! Ha, ha, ha!"

"Mickey Mouse going to the big house," Mortimer said. "Now ain't that a shame. Don't worry, Mick! I'll take care of Minnie for ya!"

"Yeah," Mickey said, giving Mortimer a dirty look. "I'll just _bet_ you will."

And with that, Mickey was thrown into the back of the police wagon, and carted off to jail.


	6. Hatching a Plan

_THWUMP!_

The sound of the evening paper hitting the front porch woke Pluto up from a nap. He hadn't seen Mickey in days, and he was getting lonesome for him. He yawned, stretched, and walked over to the porch. He immediately saw the headlines, and his eyes nearly sprung out of his head.

_Mickey Mouse Convicted of Murder. Sentenced to Life in Prison_

Pluto couldn't believe what he was reading. It was just unthinkable! As the orange dog was staring at the paper, the gate opened, and Minnie came into the yard, carrying a leash.

"Come on, Pluto," she said, clipping the leash to the dog's collar. "You're going to be living with me for awhile."

Pluto whimpered, but went with Minnie anyway, taking the evening paper along with him. Once Minnie got back to her house, she was met by her kitten, Figaro. He jumped up, and began rubbing up against her legs, purring.

"Not now, Figaro," Minnie said, absently, and she pushed the kitten away. Figaro looked at her, confused, and then noticed Pluto was there, but without Mickey.

"Meow?" Figaro asked, looking up at Pluto. Pluto whimpered, and dropped the newspaper so Figaro could see the headline.

"Me_ow_?!" Figaro mewed, as if he was saying "this is a joke, right?" Pluto sniffled, and shook his head. Then he whimpered, and began moaning.

Though Pluto and Figaro weren't crazy about each other, Figaro decided to put any hard feelings aside, and he began rubbing against the orange canine, as if he were comforting him. He also figured Minnie didn't need to deal with a cat-and-dog-fight right now.

Minnie was walking around her house, taking every picture she had of Mickey, and throwing them to the floor.

"Mickey Mouse, you're not a mouse, you're a rat!" she shouted, slamming a photo from her night stand to the floor. The frame shattered to pieces.

Minnie did this a couple more times, and then flung herself on the bed, and began sobbing hysterically. Pluto then started howling mournfully. Figaro jumped onto the living room couch, and buried his head under a cushion. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

Things weren't any better at the McDuck mansion, either. The boys were still pretty upset, and Scrooge certainly didn't blame them.

"Would you like me to make some dinner, Mr. McDuck?" Mrs. Beakly suggested.

"No, Mrs. Beakly," Scrooge said. "I'm not very hungry."

"Us neither," Huey said, sniffling.

"I can't believe Unca Donald's really gone," Louie said, and he started to cry all over again.

"I know, lads," Scrooge said, giving his grandnephews a hug. "I know. I can't believe it, either."

"What's gonna happen to us now that Unca Donald's gone, Unca Scrooge?" Dewey asked.

"Why, you lads will stay here with me, of course," Scrooge said. "Just like you did when your Uncle Donald joined the Navy."

"Yeah," Huey sniffled. "But it's just not the same."

"It's never gonna be the same, is it, Unca Scrooge?" Dewey said.

"I know, lads," Scrooge said. "I know.

"Shall I make arrangements for the funeral, sir?" Duckworth asked. Upon hearing that, Huey, Dewey, and Louie lost it. Scrooge sighed, and started to head upstairs with the boys.

"I'll take care of it later, Duckworth," he said. "I have a feeling it's going to be a long couple of days."

"Very good, sir," Duckworth said.

Half an hour later, just as Scrooge had gotten the boys to settle down a little, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be at a time like this?" Scrooge asked, sounding a little perturbed.

"It's Miss Daisy, sir," Duckworth said, after he opened the door.

"Daisy, what are you doing here?" Scrooge asked. Daisy didn't answer. Her beak began quivering, and she suddenly burst into hysterical tears, and latched onto Scrooge, crying into his shoulder.

"There, there, lassie," Scrooge said, wrapping his arms around her. "I know. It's all right."

"No it isn't!" Daisy wailed. "It's not all right! It's never going to be all right again! Donald's gone forever! I'll never see him again!"

"Please, Daisy, try to get a hold of yourself. You're breaking me heart! That, and you're getting my coat soggy."

Daisy's response was a long wail that would rival a fire engine's siren. Scrooge sighed, and just let Daisy cry into his shoulder. He didn't have the heart to send her home. It was obvious Daisy needed family, and, even though it wasn't official, Scrooge _did_ consider her part of his family.

"Mrs. Beakly!" he called. "Show Daisy to one of the spare bedrooms. She's going to be staying with us for awhile."

"Right away, Mr. McDuck," Mrs. Beakly said. Daisy's sobs died down a bit, and she finally managed to let go of Scrooge, and allowed Mrs. Beakly to lead her upstairs.

"There, there, dear," Mrs. Beakly said. "You just have yourself a good, long cry. We're here for you."

Once Daisy and Mrs. Beakly disappeared upstairs, Scrooge went into his study. He opened a drawer in his desk, where he kept a photo album. He turned to a page that had a photo of him and Donald, when Donald was just a baby. There were also photos of Donald with Huey, Dewey, and Louie, as well as a family portrait. Scrooge put the photo album back in the drawer. He saw a framed photo of Donald he kept on his desk. He sighed, and placed the picture face down. Scrooge couldn't bear to look at it.

The next morning, Pluto woke up at Minnie's house, looking like a train wreck. He had been howling all night. Due to this, Figaro hadn't gotten any sleep, either, but he knew Pluto was upset. Instead of getting mad at the dog, the little kitten just snuggled up against him, and purred.

Minnie didn't look like a million bucks herself that morning, either. Her ears were drooping, a couple of curlers she was wearing were coming loose, her tail was twisted, and she looked like she had only gotten an hour of sleep (which she probably had). She shuffled into the kitchen, and filled her coffee machine, turned it on, and went to the refrigerator. She pulled out a carton of cream, and poured it a bowl.

"I need more cream," she said, sleepily, making a note on her shopping list. Then she put the bowl on the floor, and went back to her coffee machine.

"You and Pluto will have to share breakfast today, Figaro," she said. "I don't have enough cream, and I definitely don't have any dog food."

Pluto came into the kitchen, but just let out a whine, and slumped onto the ground on his stomach in front of the bowl. Figaro began lapping up the cream, and noticed Pluto wasn't eating. He nudged the bowl toward Pluto, but the dog just sighed, and turned away. Figaro meowed, and nudged the bowl a little closer. But Pluto ignored it. Figaro sighed, and sat down in front of the bowl. Somehow, he wasn't very hungry, either. He then jumped up onto the table, and began rubbing his head against Minnie's hand, purring like an outboard motor.

"Mew," he said.

"Not now, Figaro," Minnie sighed, picking the kitten up, and putting him back on the floor. Figaro pouted, and then walked out of the kitchen. It was about all he could do.

After breakfast, Minnie went to take a shower, and get dressed. Pluto continued to lay on the floor, looking forlorn. Figaro looked at him, and then decided to try to cheer him up. The first thing he did was dig his favorite squeaky catnip mouse out of his bed, and he ran over to Pluto, placing it at the dog's feet. Pluto just looked at it. Figaro nudged it closer, and pressed on it with his paw, making it squeak. Pluto sighed, and turned away. But Figaro wasn't licked yet. He found a ball of yarn, and batted it at Pluto, expecting him to bat it back, but he didn't. Figaro then pulled out all the stops. He found every single one of his cat toys, and gave them to Pluto, trying to entice him to play, but Pluto just turned away from them all. Frustrated, Figaro gave up, and went to the couch for a cat nap.

About an hour later, the doorbell rang. Figaro woke up from his catnap, and looked up. Minnie answered the door, and found Mortimer standing there.

"Hiya, Minnie!" he shouted.

"What is it, Mortimer?" Minnie asked, heaving a frustrated sounding sigh.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. Who knew Mickey would turn out to be a criminal?"

"Yes, I know."

"I know it's gotta be rough on you. But good ol' Mortimer is here for you if you ever want to talk."

Figaro looked at Mortimer as if he were crazy. Then he arched his back, puffed out his fur, and began hissing at him. Neither Minnie nor Mortimer seemed to notice.

"I'll be here for you," Mortimer continued. "You can tell me all about it, and . . . . . _yeouch!_"

Mortimer stopped in mid-sentence when he felt something sharp swipe him in the leg. It was Figaro, glaring up at the tall mouse, growling and hissing.

"Figaro, that wasn't very nice!" Minnie scolded. "What's gotten into you? I'm sorry, Mortimer, Figaro's never done that before!"

"Heh," Mortimer said, gritting his teeth to maintain his control. "Kittens will be kittens, after all."

Hearing the commotion, Pluto came into the room. Once he saw Mortimer, he began growling.

"I think you'd better go, Mortimer," Minnie said.

"Yeah, good idea," Mortimer said, getting a nervous feeling from the look on Pluto's face. "Remember, Minnie! If you need someone to talk to . . . . ."

Pluto lunged before Mortimer could finish. Minnie had to grab him by the collar to keep him from ripping off Mortimer's leg, but that didn't keep Pluto from barking at the tall mouse. Once Mortimer was gone, Minnie closed the door, and glared at the two.

"What's the matter with you two?" she asked. "I know you don't like Mortimer, but that's no reason to attack him!"

Pluto and Figaro both hung their heads, as if they were saying they were sorry. Then they looked at each other. They weren't sure why they wanted to take a chunk out of Mortimer's hide all of a sudden. They had seen him before, but never once did they want to rip him to shreds. Both Pluto and Figaro went back to the evening paper from the day before, and studied the headlines. The two of them just couldn't believe Mickey was a murderer. Something was rotten in Toon Town. Immediately, they began barking and meowing at each other, and decided to take action. That night, they went outside, via Figaro's kitty door (though it was a bit of a tight squeeze for Pluto), jumped Minnie's fence, and ran down the street.


	7. Jailbreak

Pluto and Figaro ran directly to the jail where Mickey had been taken. Figaro tapped Pluto's leg, and motioned him to come down. Then Figaro whispered something to Pluto, and the dog nodded, barked, and gave Figaro a big slurp.

"Me-_yecch_," Figaro grumbled, and then shook himself dry.

The duo ran for the main entrance, and waited until someone opened the door. Finally, it did, and they snuck inside. They quickly found one of the guards, and Figaro went into action. He rubbed up against the guard's legs, and meowed.

"What the?" the guard asked looking down. "Hey, where'd you come from?"

"Me-yew!" Figaro shouted, giving the guard the "Big Saucer Eyes" look.

"Awwwww!" the guard shouted, picking Figaro up. He practically turned into a pile of mush, and began tickling Figaro's tummy. "Well, aren't you just the cutest thing? Whosa cute little kitty? Whosa cute little kitty?"

While the guard was gushing over Figaro, Pluto snuck over to his belt, and managed to grab the keys to the cells. Then, he snuck down the hall, and began sniffing. He kept this up until he found what he was looking for. There was Mickey, sitting on the cot in his cell, playing the blues on his harmonica. When Pluto saw him, he put down the keys, and barked to get his master's attention.

"Pluto!" Mickey shouted, happily. He jumped off his cot, ran to the door, and reached through the bars to give his pal a hug. Pluto barked happily, and started licking Mickey's face.

"Okay, okay, easy, boy, easy!" Mickey shouted, laughing. "Oh boy, it's good to see you! I sure miss ya, pal!"

Pluto barked, and picked up the cell keys, showing them to Mickey. Mickey took them a smiled.

"Does this mean you believe me?" he asked. "You don't think I murdered Donald?"

Pluto barked, and gave Mickey another slurp. Mickey reached the key outside his cell, stuck it in the lock, and turned. Then he carefully walked out of the cell, and gave his dog a big hug.

"Aww, thanks Pluto!" he shouted. "You're the best dog a mouse could ever have! But how did you get the keys, anyway?"

Pluto motioned for Mickey to follow him, and the two of them walked down the hall to where the guard was, still gushing over the cuteness of Figaro.

"Figaro believes me, too?" Mickey asked. Pluto nodded. "Aw, you guys sure are swell. But how do we get out of here without the guard noticing?"

Pluto snuck over to a fuse box close by, and pulled the switch.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" the guard asked.

While the lights were out, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro made a break for it, and just walked out the front door. Then they ran as fast as they could, and as far away from the jail as they could. Mickey knew he was going to be in trouble for breaking out of jail, but he knew it was the only way he was going to clear his name. Once he felt they were far enough away, they stopped to catch their breath.

"Thanks for getting me out of there, you guys," Mickey said, putting his arm around Pluto, and rubbing his face against Figaro. "At least you two believe me. But I'm afraid nobody else does. I don't know what to do. And I don't know what really happened to Donald."

Pluto whimpered and slumped a little. Then he got an idea. He began barking, and tugged on the sleeve of Mickey's striped suit.

"What's the matter, boy?" he asked.

Pluto barked, and went into a pointer bit, pointing toward the road that led to the park, where Mickey and Donald went hiking that fateful day.

"You mean we should go back to the park?" Mickey asked. Pluto barked and nodded. "Yeah! If we find out what _really _happened to Donald, then everyone will know I didn't really murder him! Pluto, you're a genius! Come on! We've got a lot to do, and little time to do it in!"

And with that, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro ran to Mickey's house. Luckily, no one was around, and all the houses on the block were dark, since it was so late. Quietly, Mickey changed into his red shorts and yellow shoes, grabbed his backpack, and began packing some supplies in it. Once he had everything, he went into his bedroom to get some sleep.

"I just hope after whatever happened, Donald's still alive," he said. Pluto barked, and Figaro meowed in agreement. And with that, our three heroes turned in for the night. They had a lot to do first thing in the morning.

The next morning, Launchpad went to the McDuck mansion, and rang the doorbell. Scrooge answered it, looking tired.

"Hiya, Mr. McDee," Launchpad said.

"Come in, Launchpad," Scrooge sighed. "What brings you over here?"

"I just wanted to see how you guys were doing."

"The boys and I are hanging in there. It's actually Daisy I'm a bit worried about."

"What makes you say that, Mr. McDee?"

Before Scrooge could answer, a gigantic wail came from upstairs.

"Never mind," Launchpad said. "I think I get the idea."

"She's been like this ever since the trial, poor girl," Scrooge said.

"Say no more, Mr. McDee! I'll go and talk to her."

Before Scrooge could say anything, Launchpad walked up the stairs, and knocked on Daisy's door.

"Come in," Daisy sniffled.

"Hiya, Daisy," Launchpad said. "I came to see how you were doing."

"Oh . . . . I'm . . . . just fiiiiiiiine!"

Daisy sort of wailed that last one. She started bawling all over again. Launchpad walked closer into the room, pulled up a chair, and sat down next to the bed.

"Come on, Daisy," he said. "I know you're upset and all, but cheer up! After all, it's not the end of the world."

"That's easy for you to say!" Daisy shouted. "Donald was the only duck I ever loved! And now he's . . . . . he's . . . . ."

Daisy let out an extremely loud wail once more. She practically buried her head in the pillow, as tears flowed from her eyes.

"Come on, I can't stand to see a girl cry," Launchpad said, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket. Daisy took it and blew as hard as she could, resulting in a honk that would rival a convoy of trucks. Her sobs died down to little whimpers as she handed the now soaked handkerchief back to Launchpad.

"Eeeehhhh . . . . ." Launchpad said, cringing. "Keep it."

Launchpad got up, and left the room. He didn't know what else to do, and he was afraid of saying something that would cause Daisy to lose it again.

"Well?" Scrooge asked as soon as the pilot came down the stairs.

"No go, Mr. McDee," Launchpad replied, shaking his head. "She's really broken up about this, isn't she?"

"I don't blame her one bit. She really loved Donald."

"Yeah, I can kinda tell."

Scrooge nodded, and sighed. Then he sat down, and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.

"You okay, Mr. McDee?" Launchpad asked.

"Aye, I'm all right," Scrooge sighed. "I just feel like I'm in a bit of a nightmare."

"A nightmare come true, huh?"

"Exactly."

Launchpad nodded. He didn't know what to say, and he was afraid if he _did_ say something, he'd wind up with his foot in his mouth, or worse yet, Scrooge's foot on his rear end.

In the meantime, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro had arrived at the bottom of Doomsday Falls. Mickey studied the falls, and then studied the river next to it. He was certain if he survived going over, then Donald must have, too. The only problem was what had happened to Donald after he and Mickey went over. Mickey thought this out, and finally snapped his fingers.

"There's only one logical explanation to this," he said. "After going over the falls, the river current might have taken us in two separate directions. I could have been washed up on shore, and maybe Donald was carried further downstream. It was so late the night we started to look for him, we didn't look down that way. Let's go, boys!"

Pluto barked, and immediately began sniffing about. Mickey and Figaro followed. Mickey called Donald's name over and over. Suddenly, Pluto stopped, let out a frightened yip, and dove to hide behind Mickey.

"What's the matter, Pluto?" Mickey asked.

Pluto whimpered, and pointed. Mickey looked, and saw why Pluto had been so spooked all of a sudden. The path they were on led to an area that was known as No Man's Land. It was a place no one in Toon Town had ever been before, and those who have ventured in never returned. Mickey gulped.

"I've always wondered where the Wabash-Your-Head-In River ended up," he said, nervously. "It, uhhh, it goes right through No Man's Land, huh?"

Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro just stood there, nervously. None of them wanted to go into No Man's Land, but Mickey was thinking he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to find Donald. He gulped again, and summoned up as much courage as he could muster.

"Well," he said, "if this is where Donald is, then this is where I'm going!"

Mickey started forward. He wasn't going to force Pluto and Figaro to go with him. Pluto and Figaro looked at each other, gulped, and slowly followed Mickey. They didn't want him to go into No Man's Land alone. Mickey smiled when he looked over his shoulder, and saw them coming.

"Thanks, you guys," he said. "I knew I could count on you two. Now come on! If Donald's somewhere in No Man's Land, he's definitely gonna need help!"

And with that, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro walked down the path that led directly into No Man's Land.


	8. No Man's Land

Mickey, Figaro, and Pluto walked right into No Man's Land, nervously. It was a creepy place. The tree branches looked like hands that were ready to reach out and grab someone. There was hardly any grass, and who knew what the heck was lurking around in woods here.

"Gosh . . . . ." Mickey said, nervously. "Sure is creepy in here. I'm glad you and Figaro are with me, Pluto. I'd be pretty scared if I were in here by myself."

Pluto barked in agreement, and stayed close to his master. Figaro stayed close to Pluto. Mickey was doing his best not to fall apart, but it wasn't easy. Pluto began sniffing around, trying to locate Donald's scent, but it wasn't easy. Figaro also sniffed around, trying to help. As he was investigating, he heard a loud crack, and a huge tree branch fell, nearly right on top of the black and white kitten.

"_Reeeeooowwwww_!" Figaro shrieked in terror, his fur standing on end, and he raced right into Mickey, managing to knock the mouse into Pluto, and they all hit the ground. Figaro began shaking nervously.

"Figaro!" Mickey shouted. "What's the matter?"

Figaro looked toward that huge tree branch, and curled himself deeper into Mickey's arms. Mickey pet the kitten gently.

"Aw, poor little fella," he said. "Did that almost fall on you?"

Figaro nodded. Mickey pet him a little more, and decided to carry him, since he was so small. He also clipped Pluto's leash to his collar.

"There," he said. "This way, we won't get separated."

Pluto barked and nodded his head. Then he continued sniffing around. The trio went deeper and deeper into the forest, until they reached the center of it. They found themselves in the middle of a circle of trees. Pluto sniffed around the whole thing.

"Which way do we go, boy?" Mickey asked. Pluto sniffed around, then sat up, shrugged, and whimpered.

"Gosh," Mickey said, holding Figaro a little closer. "Maybe we should find our way back to the river. But which way is back?"

"You'd be better off going home entirely," a ghostly voice said.

"Yeah, I know, but . . . . ." Mickey started, but then he realized something. "Wh-who said that?"

"You're taking a great risk coming into our forest, mouse," the ghostly voice said. "Nobody enters our forest, and comes out alive."

"Oh, I know, b-b-but . . . . ."

"We don't like strangers in _our_ forest."

"Really? Well, uhh, then . . . . . so long!"

Mickey and Pluto ran off down a path as fast as they could.

"Stop them!" the ghostly voice shouted. "Don't let them escape! Don't let them get away!"

The trees seem to come alive then, reaching down to grab Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro with their branches. They even looked like they had faces in their trunks, and glowing eyes. Our heroes began running as fast as they could, ducking and dodging the branches. As if that weren't bad enough, bats began swooping down on the trio.

"Run, Pluto, run!" Mickey shouted.

Pluto whimpered, and raced after his master. Figaro dug his claws into Mickey's chest, and held on for dear life. Mickey was too panicked to notice. Both Mickey and Pluto dove to the ground when a flock of bats dive-bombed them. The bats flew back up, and Mickey and Pluto kept right on running. Finally, they eluded the bats, and the trees, and stopped running for a moment.

"Wow," Mickey said, breathlessly. "That was close! The only thing missing is a headless horseman!"

A demonic laugh filled the air. Mickey looked over his shoulder, and saw what looked like a glowing jack-o-lantern face floating toward him, and heard hoofbeats in the distance. When the jack-o-lantern got closer, Mickey could make out a figure on a horse, carrying a jack-o-lantern in his hand. Upon further inspection, Mickey noticed that the rider didn't have a head.

"Yeow!" he shouted, taking off like a shot. "Me and my big mouth!"

"Yipe!" Pluto yelped. Figaro gave a screech, and dug his claws further into Mickey's chest.

"Ouch!" Mickey shouted. "Hey, easy with those claws, Figaro."

The Headless Horseman laughed, and drew his sword, swiping at Mickey and Pluto with it. They both ran as fast as they could. They knew the old story. The Headless Horseman wouldn't rest until he found a head to replace his own. As Mickey was running, he spotted a covered bridge in the distance.

"If I remember the song lyrics from that Sleepy Hollow movie," he said, "if I pass the bridge, the Headless Horseman can't follow. Come on, Pluto!"

Pluto barked, and he and Mickey began running as fast as their legs could carry them. They had to reach the bridge before the Headless Horseman could chop off their heads with that sword he was swinging. With every inch, the bridge got closer, but unfortunately, so did the Headless Horseman. Luckily, Mickey ran across the bridge as fast as he could. Pluto barely made it, just as the Headless Horseman made one last swipe, nearly taking the dog's tail off in the process. Then, the Headless Horseman took his flaming pumpkin, and threw it into the bridge.

"Hit the deck!" Mickey shouted, and he and Pluto dove to the ground once they were out of the covered bridge. The pumpkin hit the ground and smashed to pieces. Mickey stood up, and looked around. All he could see was pumpkin pieces all over the ground.

"Whew," he sighed, petting Figaro. "We made it."

Pluto whimpered, and opened one eye, through his paws. Once he saw the coast was clear, he stood up, and heaved a huge sigh of relief. Our heroes continued on their way, but none of them knew which way to go, and to top it off, it was starting to get dark.

"Boy, am I tired," Mickey said, yawning. "We'd better hit the sack, fellas."

"Meow!" Figaro shouted in protest. Pluto began whimpering himself. They didn't want to spend the entire night sleeping outside in this creepy place.

"Aw, come on, you two," he said. "I'm sure the worst is behind us now."

Just as Mickey said that, there was a rumble of thunder, and then it started to rain.

"Boy, I've really gotta learn to keep my big mouth shut," Mickey said. "Come on, fellas. We'd better see if we can find some shelter."

Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro walked around, looking for anything they could find to wait out the storm. After searching for what seemed like hours, Mickey finally found a cave in the distance, and he, Pluto, and Figaro ran inside.

"Here we are," Mickey said. "It should be nice and dry in here. Now, let's get some shut eye. We'll resume the search for Donald first thing tomorrow morning."

That sounded good to Pluto and Figaro. Figaro yawned, stretched, and walked around toward Pluto. Then he started to knead Pluto's side, and finally curled himself into a ball and went to sleep. Pluto yawned as well, and curled himself up and went to sleep himself.

The storm was hitting Duckburg pretty hard that night as well. Thunder practically crashed like cannons, and lightning flashed almost immediately after each rumble of thunder. After one particularly loud thunder crash, Huey woke up screaming.

"_AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!_"

"Huh?! Wha?!" Dewey shouted, suddenly waking up.

"What's going on?" Louie asked. Before Huey could answer the door flew open, and in ran Scrooge, followed by Duckworth, Mrs. Beakly, Webby, and Daisy.

"We heard a scream," Webby said.

"Is everything all right in here, lads?" Scrooge asked. "What happened?"

"It was awful, Unca Scrooge!" Huey shouted. He jumped off the top bunk, and latched onto Scrooge as if there were no tomorrow.

"Unca Donald came back," he went on, "and Dewey and Louie and I went to go see him, and then Mickey showed up, and he was _huge_! He looked like King Kong, only ten times scarier! Then he . . . . he grabbed Unca Donald, and swallowed him whole! And then . . . . and then he said he was gonna wipe out all of duck kind, and he was gonna start with us, and then he squished Dewey and Louie with his foot, and then he came after me, and . . . . and . . . ."

Huey burst into tears before he could go on.

"Take it easy, lad," Scrooge said, holding his nephew close. "It was just a nightmare, that's all."

"I wish Unca Donald was here," Huey said, sniffling.

"Yeah," Dewey said, getting down from his bunk, and patting his brother's shoulder.

"Me too," Louie said.

"Me three," Daisy said, sitting down next to Louie, and putting her arm around his shoulders.

"Do you really think Mickey Mouse would wipe out all of duck kind, Unca Scrooge?" Webby asked, looking scared.

"Of course not, darlin'," Scrooge said, putting his arm around Webby's shoulders. "Mickey Mouse is in prison. He won't be able to hurt anyone from there. Come on, now, let's all go back to bed."

"Can we sleep in your room tonight, Unca Scrooge?" Huey asked.

"Please?" Dewey asked.

"Pretty please?" Louie asked.

"All right, boys," Scrooge said. "But just for tonight."

Huey, Dewey, and Louie grabbed their pillows and blankets and followed their uncle into his bedroom. Somehow, they felt safer this way.


	9. Snakey Situation

Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro woke up the next morning, practically at the crack of dawn. By that time, the storm had subsided, and the woods didn't look half as creepy as they did before.

"Well, fellas," Mickey said. "I guess it's time we get going."

Pluto barked, and Figaro meowed in agreement, and the trio started off. As they were walking, they heard a low growling sound behind them.

"What was that?" Mickey asked.

Pluto shrugged, and barked, as if to say "I don't know." Figaro shrugged as well, and the three of them continued along, but they still heard that growling noise.

"Pluto, is that your stomach growling?" Mickey asked. Pluto shook his head. Mickey looked at Figaro, who also shook his head.

"Well, it isn't my stomach," Mickey said. "Maybe it's just the wind or something. Let's go, fellas."

The trio walked on, until the growling became louder, and Mickey couldn't stand it. He stopped, and turned around to see exactly what was making that noise, but right away, he wished he hadn't. Behind our heroes was a giant grizzly bear, and he didn't look at all friendly.

"Uh oh . . . ." Mickey said, nervously. "RUN!"

Immediately, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro took off running, but the bear was right behind them. Mickey and Figaro dashed up a tree, but Pluto was unable to escape that route, considering dogs don't climb trees, but he tried. The bear arrived, and stood up on it's hind legs, growling.

"Pluto!" Mickey shouted.

Pluto whimpered, and covered his head with his paws. Figaro then bared his claws and teeth, and jumped down from the branch.

"_Reeeeooooowwww_!" he yowled.

"Figaro!" Mickey shouted. "Wait!"

Figaro landed directly on top of the bear, and began digging his claws into it. The bear howled, and tried to swipe at the little kitten. It's big paw made contact with Figaro, and knocked him straight into a tree. Figaro wasn't hurt, luckily, just dazed. But Pluto suddenly became angry. He growled at the bear, with his teeth bared. He let out a series of loud barks, and pounced on the bear, attacking at full throttle, as if he were telling it to pick on somebody it's own size. Figaro got back into the fight as well, clawing, biting, and hissing at the bear. They managed to lure it away from Mickey, but Mickey lost sight of them shortly afterward.

"Pluto!" Mickey called, and then whistled. "Pluto! Here, boy!"

No answer. Mickey decided to try another tactic.

"Figaro!" he called out. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!"

There wasn't any answer. Mickey began to get nervous, and started to climb down the tree. As he climbed, a branch he had grabbed onto broke, and he started to fall.

"Whoa!" he shouted, grabbing onto a vine, which stopped his fall, but left him dangling in mid-air a bit.

"Whew! That was close!" he shouted. Then he began swinging back to the trunk to climb down the rest of the way, but instead, he was hoisted upward, and found himself face to face with a large snake.

"Sssay now," the snake hissed. "What do we have here? A rather tasssty looking moussse."

"Uh oh," Mickey said, as he realized the vine he had grabbed was actually the snake's tail. He immediately let go of it, and started to run, but the snake wrapped his tail around his wrist, and stopped him.

"What'sss the matter?" he asked. "Don't trussst me, do you? Jussst becaussse I'm a sssnake?"

"Well, no, it's not that . . . ." Mickey said, nervously. "It's just that I gotta go find my dog, and . . . ."

"I might be able to help you, that isss . . . . if you trussst me."

"Well . . . ."

"You sssee, nobody every trussstsss me, because I'm a sssnake. I could be of ssso much help to people, if only they would trussst me."

"I don't know . . . . I'm kind of in a hurry, you see, and . . . ."

"Jussst trussst me."

The snake looked directly into Mickey's eyes, and Mickey suddenly felt sleepy. The snake began singing, as he hypnotized Mickey.

_Trussst in me, jussst in me_

_Shut your eyes and trussst in me_

Mickey started walking toward the snake, in a trance. He didn't notice he was about ready to walk right off the branch.

"Hold ssstill, pleassse," the snake said, positioning the tip of his tail against Mickey's forehead, and then creating a staircase out of his middle. Then the snake continued singing.

_You can sssleep sssafe and sssound_

_Knowing I am around_

_Ssslip into sssilent ssslumber_

_Sssail on a sssilver missst_

_Ssslowly and surely your sssensssesss_

_Will sss-cease to resssissst_

As Mickey was in that trance, he started to snore.

"You're ssssnoring," the snake said.

"Sorry," Mickey yawned.

The snake continued singing, only this time, Mickey joined in.

_Snake: Trussst in me_

_Mickey: I'm trustin' in you_

_Snake: Jussst in me_

_Mickey: Yeah, only in you_

_Snake: Shut your eyes_

_Mickey: I'm shuttin' 'em now_

_Snake: And trussst in me_

_Mickey: I'm-a trustin' in ya, shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo-bee-dee-doo, doo-waaahhh_

With that last note, Mickey slid down the snake's back, and into his coils, not knowing that he was about to become lunch. Thankfully, Pluto and Figaro had eluded the bear, and were looking for Mickey, via Pluto's nose. As Pluto was sniffing around, he bumped into the snake's tail, and looked up. There in the snake's coils was Mickey, with a silly grin plastered on his face. The snake was about ready to swallow the mouse, when Pluto bit it's tail as hard as he possibly could, and pulled.

"YEOUCH!" the snake shouted. As Pluto pulled, he managed to unwind Mickey from the snake's grip, and the mouse came whirling down from the trees, and hit the ground.

THUD!

"Ouch!" Mickey shouted, snapping out of the trance once he landed. Pluto immediately let go of the snake, ran to Mickey, and began slurping him.

"Down, Pluto!" Mickey shouted. "Easy, boy, easy!"

Pluto eased up, just in time to see the snake coming toward Mickey, Figaro, and himself. The three of them ran off as fast as they could.

While Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro were running from the snake, Minnie and Clarabelle drove into Duckburg to the McDuck mansion.

"I hope Daisy's feeling better today," Clarabelle said.

"Me too," Minnie said. "But I don't blame her for being upset."

"That's true. I mean, after all, she and Donald were like you and Mickey. Or, rather, like you and Mickey _used_ to be."

"Yeah, I know."

"I just can't believe Mickey would even do something like that. Just when you think you know a mouse!"

"I know."

"And nobody even knows why he'd want to kill Donald! I tell you, Minnie, it's a mystery!"

"I know . . . ."

"I have a theory on it, though. The way I see it, you know how Mickey's always been the good guy, right? Well, what if he was just so good, he went bad? You know, he got tired of being a goody-two-shoes, and decided to see what it was like to commit a crime?"

"Well . . . ."

"Maybe that was it. Maybe he figured he'd become a bad guy, and he thought he'd get away with it because, well, let's face it! He's Mickey Mouse! He can't do any wrong!"

"Well, I don't really . . . ."

"Yep, that's it, I'm sure of it. He just snapped! Now he's a criminal, a crook, a convict . . . . ."

"Clarabelle . . . ."

"A wrongdoer, a miscreant, a hood . . . ."

"Clarabelle . . . ."

"A con, a jailbird, an outlaw . . . ."

"I GET THE POINT, CLARABELLE!"

Minnie had yelled that at the top of her voice, causing Clarabelle to jump a little. Immediately, Clarabelle decided to shut up. It was obvious Minnie was a little testy about the subject of her (former) boyfriend. Thankfully, they had pulled up at the McDuck mansion shortly afterward. Clarabelle decided to wait in the car, while Minnie went up to the front door, and rang the bell. When it opened, a practical tidal wave came rushing out. Minnie jumped to the side to avoid getting soaked. As she watched the tidal wave, she noticed Huey, Dewey, and Louie coming out along with it.

"Hi, Minnie!" Huey shouted, sitting on an inner tube.

"Hi, Minnie!" Dewey shouted, riding a surfboard.

"Hi, Minnie!" Louie shouted, paddling a rubber raft.

"Uhhh . . . . hi, boys," Minnie said, a little confused. Then she turned toward the door, and saw Duckworth in full scuba gear. She also heard Daisy's wailing from upstairs.

"Uhhh . . . ." Minnie said, a little apprehensively. "Is this a bad time to see Daisy?"

"Not at all," Duckworth said, standing aside to let Minnie in. "Quite frankly, Miss Minnie, I think it would do Miss Daisy a world of good to see you."

"Aye, I couldn't agree more," Scrooge said, coming into the hallway, wringing out the bottom of his coat. "The lass just hasn't been herself."

"I bet," Minnie said. "I don't really blame her, though."

"I don't, either," Scrooge said. "But she's been crying non-stop ever since the trial, and we're all up to our ears in tears around here. I'm practically working with literal liquid assets! Incidentally, Minnie, how have you been doing?"

"Oh, about half and half, I'd say. I'm still trying to figure things out with Mickey, and why he did it, but truthfully, I'd rather not think about it, or talk about it."

"I understand, lassie. In any case, see if you can get Daisy out of the house. I need to dry out a little."

Minnie nodded, and followed Duckworth upstairs to Daisy's room. He knocked on the door.

"Miss Daisy," he said. "Miss Minnie is here to see you."

The door slowly opened, and Minnie did a double take. There was Daisy, wearing a black dress, black shoes, and a black hat with a veil on it. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy, and she looked like she hadn't slept in weeks (which she probably hadn't). Once Daisy saw her best friend, she let out a wail, and hugged Minnie.

"Oh Minnie!" she shouted. "Minnie, Minnie, Minnie, _Min_nie!"

"Oh, Daisy," Minnie said, returning Daisy's hug. "There, there. It's all right."

"I'm so miserable! I don't know what to do with myself! I miss Donald _so_ much!"

"I understand. I'm sure it must be very hard for you."

Daisy let out another wail, and continued to cry into Minnie's shoulder. Minnie hated to see her like this. It was kind of depressing to see the once fun-loving and enthusiastic Daisy like this. She was a shell of her former self, though Minnie couldn't really blame her. But she had an idea.

"Daisy, you could use a bit of fresh air," she said. "Clarabelle's out waiting for me in the car. We were going to do some shopping. Why don't you join us?"

"Well . . . ." Daisy said, sniffling. "Maybe I should get out."

"Atta girl! Come on."

Minnie and Daisy then went downstairs, and out to the car. They climbed in, and drove off.

"Hi, Daisy," Clarabelle said. "How are you holding up?"

"Oh . . . . okay, I guess," Daisy said. She pulled a tissue out of her purse and blew into it (resulting in that same truck horn sound effect).

"Oh Daisy," Clarabelle said. "I know you miss Donald, but it's not like your completely alone in the world! You've still got us. And, as they say, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Or ducks in the pond as the case may be here."

Clarabelle laughed at her little joke, but Minnie didn't seem to find it that funny. Neither did Daisy, for that matter. Her eyes filled with tears, and her beak began to quiver.

"Waaaaahhhhhhh!" she wailed, as her eyes became ocular gushers.

"Clarabelle, you're not helping!" Minnie scolded.

"Sorry," Clarabelle said, sheepishly.

By the time the girls got to Daisy's favorite store, A. Jacques's Boutique, her wailing had been reduced to sniffling and whimpering.

"Oooh! Look, Daisy!" Clarabelle shouted, excitedly. "A. Jacques's is having a big sale!"

"Yeah," Daisy said, unenthusiastically. "Great."

"Come on, Daisy," Minnie said. "This will take your mind off things."

The girls went inside the store, and began looking at the merchandise, and going in and out of the fitting rooms. Daisy came out of the dressing room wearing a pastel pink dress with matching shoes and bow.

"Oh, Daisy, that dress looks perfect on you!" Minnie shouted.

"Thanks," Daisy said. Then she started sniffling. "Donald always liked me in piiiiiiiink!"

Daisy began crying a river again. Minnie and Clarabelle looked at each other, and sighed.

"Back to the ol' drawing board?" Minnie asked.

"You said it," Clarabelle said, as she and Minnie led Daisy back into the fitting room.


	10. Lost and Found

When Minnie returned home after her shopping trip with Clarabelle and Daisy, she found a huge bouquet of pink roses at her doorstep.

"Now who could have sent these?" she asked, picking up the flowers. She found the card, and looked at it.

"Just a little something to brighten your day," she read aloud. "Sincerely, Mortimer. Hmmm. Well, that was awfully nice of him. And a bit . . . . out of character . . . . oh well."

Minnie brought the flowers inside, and put them in a vase. Then she went into the kitchen, took two bowls out, and then rummaged around the cabinets for the cat food, and dog food she bought a couple of days ago.

"Pluto! Figaro!" she called. "Lunch time! Come and get it!"

There wasn't any answer. At first, Minnie figured they had just went out via the pet door, and were wandering around outside somewhere. She went to put the food on the floor for them, when she noticed the food she had given them the day before was untouched.

"This is odd," she said. "I wonder where those two are?"

Minnie went out to her back porch and looked around. Pluto and Figaro weren't there in the yard.

"Pluto! Figaro!" she called out. "Now where could they be?"

Minnie began a search of her house, looking from top to bottom, trying to find her four-legged friends, but she wasn't having much luck. As she was searching, her doorbell rang.

"Now who could that be?" she asked. When she opened the door, she found Mortimer standing there.

"Hiya, Minnie," he said. "Didja get the flowers I sent?"

"Yes, Mortimer," Minnie said. "That was very nice of you, but I can't talk right now."

"What's the matter?"

"I can't find Pluto or Figaro anywhere. They must be around here somewhere . . . ."

"Aw, I'm sure they'll show up sooner or later. Right now, let's talk about us!"

"Let's not and say we did, Mortimer. Now if you'll excuse me . . . ."

Minnie started to close the door, but before she could, Goofy came running up holding a newspaper.

"Minnie!" he shouted. "Did you see the news? Mickey's escaped from prison!"

"What?!" Minnie shouted, grabbing the newspaper. "Oh no, Mickey's a fugitive!"

"Gawrsh, does that mean he's going to go after the one-armed man?" Goofy asked.

"Let me see that!" Mortimer shouted, grabbing the paper away from Minnie, and then he began skimming the article.

"Oh no, this is a disaster! A calamity! A catastrophe!" he shouted.

"Yeah, and it's bad, too," Goofy said.

"You said it," Mortimer said. "Gotta go, Minnie! We'll talk later, bye!"

And with that, Mortimer dashed out of Minnie's house as fast as he possibly could. Minnie and Goofy looked after him, oddly.

"Gawrsh, what's the matter with him?" Goofy asked.

"I don't have the slightest idea," Minnie said. "Come on, Goofy. Help me look for Pluto and Figaro."

Mortimer ran inside his house and dashed upstairs to his bedroom. He practically tore apart his bureau until he unearthed the emerald.

"Wake up, Chernoberus!" he shouted. "We've got a problem!"

"What do you mean?" Chernoberus asked, as his image projected from the emerald.

"Mick's escaped from the big house. And I'll bet the first thing he's gonna do is go after the duck. Try to prove he's innocent!"

"I don't know why you're so worried. In order to get to the castle, he has to go through No Man's Land. Nobody's ever survived No Man's Land, after all."

"Yeah, that's true . . . . but what if Mickey finds the castle?"

"Stop worrying so much, Mortimer. It's called No Man's Land for a reason, you know."

"I got news for you, Cherno. Mickey's not a man. He's a mouse!"

"Stop worrying! I assure you, Mickey Mouse will not get out of No Man's Land."

Mortimer sighed, and flopped down on his bed. He needed to think about what to do next in order to win Minnie over.

Meanwhile, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro had reached the castle in question. Finally, Pluto managed to pick up Donald's scent.

"Atta boy, Pluto!" Mickey shouted. "Let's go!"

The trio ventured into the creepy old castle, and looked around. There were cobwebs everywhere, and the only light was coming from torches on the wall.

"Somehow, this doesn't surprise me," Mickey said, looking around.

Pluto whimpered, but continued sniffing. He led Mickey and Figaro down several staircases. They reached a doorway at the very bottom, and heard a moan.

"What was that?" Mickey asked, nervously.

The trio heard another moan, and looked in the direction it was coming from. They crept toward the source, and approached a cell. Once they got close enough, they saw what was making that moaning noise, and Mickey gasped.

"Donald!" he shouted.

It definitely was Donald, though he didn't look very well. He was slumped against the wall he was chained to, and he looked half starved. Mickey held Figaro up to the cell door, and the kitten used a claw to unlock it. Then, he, Mickey, and Pluto ran into the cell, and Pluto used his tail to unlock the chains around Donald's wrists.

"Boy, Donald, am I glad to see you!" Mickey shouted, untying the rope around Donald's bill. The minute they got Donald free, the duck groaned, and fell forward, crashing to the floor, face first.

"Omigosh!" Mickey shouted. He grabbed Donald by the shoulders, and pulled him up. "Donald! Donald, ol' buddy, ol' pal! Speak to me! Say something!"

"Unnngghhh . . . ." Donald said, straining. "Some . . . . thing."

And with that, Donald passed out again. Mickey positioned the duck's arm around his shoulders, and pulled him up to his feet.

"We've gotta get you outta here, pal," he said.

Mickey began to slowly make his way toward the staircase. Pluto whimpered, and positioned himself underneath Donald's other arm, in order to help Mickey balance him. Figaro jumped onto Pluto's back. There really wasn't anything else he could do, anyway. Once our heroes were out of the castle, Mickey propped Donald against a tree, pulled a canteen out of his backpack, opened it, and held it to Donald's mouth, pouring the contents down his throat. Donald suddenly choked, and began coughing.

"Steady there, Donald, steady," Mickey said.

"Oooohhh, my head . . . ." Donald groaned. "Where am I?"

"It's okay, Donald. You're somewhere safe. You okay, pal?"

"Yeah . . . . I think so."

"Boy, am I glad I found you! Everyone thinks you're dead! And the worst part of it is, everyone thinks I killed you!"

"What?! Everyone thinks _you_ killed me?!"

Donald stared at Mickey wide-eyed in disbelief, and then he began to chuckle. His chuckling then built up to hysterical laughter. Donald actually began rolling on the ground, he was laughing so hard. Mickey wasn't amused.

"I don't think it's so funny," he said. "My reputation's shot!"

"No, no, it's not that," Donald said, trying to control himself. "It's just . . . . how can _any_one believe _Mickey Mouse_ would murder someone?"

"I don't know how it happened, but there was videographic evidence. But just wait until we get back home. Then, everyone will see that you're alive!"

Donald stood up, and nearly fell flat on his face again, but Mickey caught him before he could hit.

"Thanks, pal," he said.

"I hope you'll be able to make it back," Mickey said. "You must've been locked up in there for at least a week."

Donald didn't answer. He had no idea how long he had been in that dungeon. He had lost track of time. Mickey put Donald's arm around his shoulders again, and helped him along the path, followed by Pluto and Figaro.


	11. Dragonwilde

Mortimer was pacing around his room, staring at the article from the paper. It was making him nervous.

"For heavens sake," Chernoberus sighed. "No one's going to find out about it! Nobody returns from No Man's Land!"

"Mickey just might," Mortimer said. "You know how it is. Fate's gonna smile on him, like it always does."

"All right, all right, if it'll make you feel better . . . ."

Chernoberus's image faded from the projection, and turned into an image of Mickey, Donald, Pluto, and Figaro. Once Mortimer saw it, he groaned.

"Oh great!" he shouted. "Just great! He found the duck! Betcha ten to one they're on their way back here!"

"Have you forgotten, Mortimer? You possess my powers. You can do whatever you wish to that mouse, you know."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Ha-cha-cha! I'll turn him into mouse flambe!"

"I strongly advise against that, Mortimer. You wouldn't want murder on your rap, would you?"

"Well, no . . . . but I can't have the little squirt coming back, now can I? Let me see . . . ."

Mortimer thought this over a little. Finally, he snapped his fingers.

"I got it!" he shouted. "I'll make sure Mickey doesn't come back, all right! I'll send him to the farthest away place imaginable! And, just to make sure, I'll have him wanted all over the world! And maybe even Cleveland, too! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Mortimer waved his hands around the emerald, and the magic powers got to work. In No Man's Land, a burst of wind suddenly appeared from what seemed like out of nowhere.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Donald shouted.

"Where did this wind come from?" Mickey asked.

Our heroes tried to walk through the wind, but it wasn't easy. Soon, the wind turned into a tornado, which began sucking everything in it's path into it's funnel.

"Yipe!" Pluto shouted, and he immediately began running in the other direction.

"_Reeeooowww_!" Figaro screeched, and ran after Pluto.

Mickey and Donald tried to do the same thing, except they didn't make as much progress. Donald was too weak to run very far, and he wound up falling flat on his stomach before long, and the tornado was gaining on him.

"Donald!" Mickey shouted, running back to where his pal had fallen. "Come on, Donald!"

"I don't know if I can make it," Donald said, panting.

"Come on, pal. I'll help you."

Mickey got Donald to his feet, but just as the two of them started running, they were caught up in the tornado, and spinning around inside of it. Pluto and Figaro continued to try to run for it, but wound up caught in it themselves. The foursome swirled around and around for quite awhile, until the tornado literally spat them out, one by one, and slowly disappeared. When the tornado spat our heroes out, however, Mickey was wearing Donald's sailor suit and hat, and Donald was wearing Mickey's shorts, shoes, and gloves.

"Wak!" Donald shouted.

"Yow!" Mickey shouted.

Quickly, the two of them ducked behind a tree, and changed back to their regular outfits.

"I wonder where we are now," Mickey said, looking around.

"Beats me," Donald said. Then he groaned, and held his head. "Oooohhh, I still feel dizzy from the tornado!"

"You'd better sit down and rest for awhile. I'll figure out where we are. Pluto, you and Figaro stay here with Donald."

Pluto barked, and saluted. Figaro curled up next to Donald and took a cat nap. Mickey walked down the path, looking around. He came to what looked like an old village, straight out of a fairytale. He walked over to a huge blacksmith, hammering a horseshoe against an anvil.

"Uhhh, excuse me, Mr. Smithy," he said. "But, uhh, where am I?"

"This is the village of Dragonwilde," the smithy said.

"Dragonwilde?" Mickey asked. "Gee, that name sounds familiar."

"And who, may I ask, are you, stranger?" the smithy asked.

"Oh, the name's Mickey. Mickey Mouse."

Mickey stuck out his hand for a handshake, but the smithy just looked at him, strangely. Then he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, and studied it.

"Mickey Mouse, you said?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Mickey said. Suddenly, the smithy grabbed Mickey by the back of his neck, and picked him up.

"You're coming with me," he said.

"I am?" Mickey asked. "Where?"

"To the authorities. I'm gonna be rich after turning you in!"

"Huh? Turning me in? You mean . . . . you mean I'm . . . ."

The smithy showed Mickey the piece of paper he had been studied, and sure enough, it was a wanted poster, reading:

_WANTED FOR MURDER: Mickey Mouse. One Million Dollar Reward (or one million of whatever your currency is)_

"Oh no," Mickey said. "I don't believe it!"

"Yessir, once I turn you in, I can quit this job," the smithy said.

"Wait a minute, pal, I'm not a murderer! Really, I'm not! I was framed!"

"Tell it to the authorities."

Mickey continued to plead with the smithy as he was being carried down the street. Luckily, his pleads didn't go unheard. Pluto looked over, and happened to see the smithy carrying Mickey, and his keen ears picked up the conversation. He began growling, took off running toward the smithy, and wound up giving him a good chomp in the posterior.

"YEOW!" the smithy shouted, and ultimately dropped Mickey.

"Thanks, Pluto, ol' pal!" Mickey shouted. "Come on, let's get Donald and Figaro, and get out of here!"

"Hey you!" the smithy shouted. "Come back here!"

Immediately, Mickey and Pluto raced back to where they left Donald and Figaro. Both of them were asleep. Pluto grabbed Figaro by the nape of the neck, while Mickey grabbed Donald's shoulders, and shook him to wake him up.

"Wake up, Donald!" he shouted. "We've got to get going!"

"Going?" Donald asked, groggily. "Going where?"

"Anywhere! Come on, wake up!"

Donald groaned, and got to his feet, unsteadily. Mickey had to help balance him.

"Come on, we don't have much time to lose!" he shouted.

Donald groaned again, and tried to run, but there was no way he was going to make it, and Mickey knew it. He also knew he just couldn't up and leave Donald there. He looked around, and saw a wheelbarrow leaning against a wall.

"Ah ha!" he shouted. He let Donald go (resulting in the duck falling over flat on his back), raced over to the wheelbarrow, grabbed it, and pushed it back to his pal.

"This should help us move faster," he said, helping Donald into the wheelbarrow. Pluto put Figaro (who was still napping) on top of Donald's stomach. Then, Mickey started running.

"Hey, you!" a voice called out. "Stop! Come back here with my wheelbarrow!"

"Sorry, mister!" Mickey called back. "But I need to borrow it for awhile!"

"Stop, thief!" the owner of the wheelbarrow yelled. "Somebody stop that mouse!"

Mickey and Pluto began to run faster, as several villagers started chasing after them. Mickey looked behind him to see how close the villagers were, but he really should have been looking where he was going. He would up running the wheelbarrow into a big rock, which catapulted Donald, Figaro, and himself into the air. Pluto barked and ran after them. Mickey, Donald, and Figaro wound up flying into a fruit cart, being pulled by a horse.

SPLAT!

"Oh boy!" Donald shouted. "Food!"

Immediately, Donald began eating, but the owner of the cart didn't look very happy.

"I hope you are able to pay for this, my good sirs," he said, glaring at both Mickey and Donald.

"Oh, gosh," Mickey said, digging through his pockets. "Uhh, you have any money on you, Donald?"

"Nope," Donald said. "I'm broke."

"So am I," Mickey said. "Ah heh, heh, heh. Eeehhh."

Before anything else could happen, Pluto jumped into the cart, on top of a bunch of bananas. The force of the jump caused the bananas to pop out of their skins, and hit the owner of the cart in the face.

SPLAT!

"Uh oh . . . ." Mickey said, nervously.

"Police!" the owner shouted.

"I think we'd better get out of here," Donald said.

"Right," Mickey said. He grabbed the reins, and flicked them to get the horse to go. "Giddyap!"

The horse whinnied, and then started running.

"I hope you know how to drive this thing," Donald said.

Mickey didn't answer. He just flicked the reins harder and harder to get the horse to go faster. Donald began peeling some more bananas, and tossed the peels on the ground. The villagers who were chasing them wound up stepping on the peels, and sliding on them. Unfortunately, Mickey was having trouble controlling the horse, and wound up driving the cart through the whole village market place, destroying everything in sight.

"Whooooaaaa, whooaaaa!" he shouted. "Steady there, big fella!"

Mickey jerked the reins, and the horse whinnied, reared up on it's hind legs, and then took off running for the woods, going over some very rugged terrain.

"Hey, Mickey!" Donald shouted. "Stop this crazy thing!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Mickey shouted.

"Look out for that ditch!" Donald yelled, pointing up ahead.

Mickey jerked the reins one more time, as hard as he possibly could.

"Whoa, horse!" he shouted. "Whoa, whoa!"

The horse saw the ditch, and made a sharp turn in the other direction. Unfortunately for our heroes, the trip over the rugged terrain had loosened the horse's harness, and when the horse turned, it came loose from the cart, and the cart went into the ditch.

"Whoooooaaaaa!" Mickey shouted.

The cart not only went into the ditch, it hit a rock on the way down, turned over, and began rolling. The cart then crashed to the bottom of the ditch in pieces. Mickey, Donald, Pluto, and Figaro had been scattered around when the cart started rolling. Pluto and Figaro were a bit dazed, but okay, otherwise. Mickey felt extremely dizzy.

"Whoa," he groaned. "What a ride. Everybody all right?"

Pluto barked and Figaro meowed, but there was no answer from Donald. Mickey looked around, and found Donald, laying unconscious amid the wreckage of the cart.

"Donald!" Mickey yelled. He ran over, and began trying to move the wreckage off of his friend.

"Hang on, Donald," he said, straining with a board. "I'll . . . . _enngghh_ . . . . have you . . . . . _hrrrmmph_ . . . . outta here in . . . ."

Before Mickey could finish his sentence, one of the wheels from the cart became dislodged as Mickey was trying to move the wreckage, fell, and hit the mouse directly in the head.

_KLONK!_

Mickey saw stars and chirping birds, groaned, and then fell backward onto the ground in an unconscious heap.


End file.
